Where Obama, Romney rank in Electoral College scores

UPDATED Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012 at 11:45 am ET: President Obama ranks ninth among candidates for president in electoral-vote averages since 1896, according to a First Read analysis.

Mitt Romney's 203 EVs puts him 22nd of the 44 candidates who have gotten at least one electoral vote in that 116-year history.

First Read averaged the electoral-vote score of each of the runs for president for each candidate (who got at least one electoral vote).

Ronald Reagan takes the top spot with his average EV score of 507, followed by Lyndon B. Johnson's 486 in 1964 following the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt is third with his average of 469 across four successful presidential runs. Dwight Eisenhower follows with an average 449.5 across his two campaigns in the 1950s.

Bill Clinton, who comes in at No. 7, edges Obama 374.5 to 348.5.

George W. Bush is 15th with his 278.5, two spots behind his father's average of 297.

Al Gore's 266 lands him at 16; John Kerry's 251 puts him at 19.

John McCain's 173 EVs in 2008 put him at No. 24, tied with Jimmy Carter's average between 1976 and 1980.

Note: Prior to the 1908 election, Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, New Mexico, and Washington, DC, did not yet count. Oklahoma was first counted in in 1908. In 1912, Arizona and New Mexico were added. Hawaii and Alaska began being counted in 1960. DC came into play for the first time in 1964. In addition, California began getting at least 40 electoral votes in 1964. In the early part of the 1900s, up until the 1930s, California was below 20 EVs. States like New York have been on a steady decline in electoral votes, while states like Florida and Texas have seen a steady increase.